June 24: Rouen
Rouen is the capital of Normandy and lies along the river Seine about 125 km from Paris. It has a population of around 120,000 and was a major textile area in the past.
It’s often called the city of a hundred spires, because of its dense concentration of historic buildings and churches . Rouen’s history stretches back more than 2000 years. Started as an important trading town during the Roman era; became the capital of the Duchy of Normandy during the Viking and Norman era, and was one of Europe’s largest and richest cities through trade and textiles.
The Great Clock was built in the 14th century. It’s set on a Renaissance arch over a street in the old town and is one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in Europe.It has a single hand (no minute hand); a sundial; a moon phase indicator and sheep.
Why are there sheep on the clock, I hear you ask? The sheep (and lambs)represent Rouen’s identity. They show how important wool and textiles were to Rouen. Sheep= economic power and prosperity ( a bit like Australia). The single clock hand ends in a sheep.
Rouen is also famous as the place where Joan of Arc was imprisoned, tried, and burned at the stake. The Place due Vieux-Marche and a museum is dedicated to her story
Couldn’t resist this scene….
Or this…..
Today I did the Tastes of Normandy tour….the best part was the chocolate shop where we got a demonstration of the process… it starts as a large brown puddle, and once the temperature is right, she swirls it onto trays for cooling. The dark chocolate will be mixed with white chocolate .
Tonight the non-group table grew to 10!
The evening’s entertainment was a French cabaret. The singer looked just like Novak Djokovic and had an amazing range of jackets and shoes!
The women’s costumes were also amazing.
Jews played a major role in Rouen. By the Middle Ages, Rouen had a large and influential Jewish community. There was a central neighbourhood called Rue aux Juifs (Street of the Jews). Jews played a key part in trade and commerce and their activity contributed significantly to Rouen’s economic growth. Despite periods of coexistence, the community faced repeated persecution and were expelled from France in 1306 by the then King. At its peak just before 1306, Jews may have made up 15-20 % of the city’s population. One of the most remarkable finds in Rouen were the remains of an 11th century Jewish building, known as Maison Sublime. It’s considered the oldest known Jewish monument in Western Europe. Now there are only a few hundred families.
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